The Association of the Palestinian Community in the UK organised the protest, which took place across the road from the embassy amid heavy police presence.

Although the protest was mostly peaceful, protesters chanted “Khyber al-Yahud” – an Islamic battle cry which celebrates the death and defeat of Jews in the battle of Khyber. The also chanted “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” – a chant which calls for the destruction of Israel.

The Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, has ordered the reopening of his country's border with Gaza.

The Rafah crossing will be reopened to allow humanitarian and medical aid into Hamas-controlled Gaza, following the weekend's raid on a flotilla ship which left at least nine pro-Palestinian activists dead.

Rafah has been kept mostly closed in the three years since Hamas gained control of the area. It is the only point on the Gaza border that Israel does not fully control.

Flotilla 13, the IDF's naval commandos, were the toast of Israel's military - until yesterday. The recipients of a rare citation for the entire unit from Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi, only last month, the "Shayetet" are credited with numerous secret missions far away from the country's shores. According to the non-Israeli press, these missions included interdiction of ships bearing arms from Iran to Israel's enemies in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.